


Blood Bound

by fromstardusttostardust



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Altars, Canon Universe, F/M, Forced Marriage, Forests, Halloween, Hiking, Romance, Spooky, Twilight Renaissance, Twilight vampires, but with slight modifications
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:27:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27358741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromstardusttostardust/pseuds/fromstardusttostardust
Summary: “Leaving so soon?”Bella turned to see Edward holding her. His face was far too close to hers and his butterscotch eyes shone into hers. She tried to jerk out of his grasp, but his hands were steel on her shoulders. “Edward? What are you doing here? What is happening?”Edward smiled. “Just a small family ceremony. Come, you should join.” His smile was beautiful, but it glinted strangely in the firelight.“Oh, no, that’s okay. I don’t want to intrude on a family ceremony. I have to be getting back to my tent anyway.”His hands didn’t move. “Oh, no, I insist. You're an integral part of this.” With unstoppable force, he steered her towards the stone table and the roaring fire.Bella watched the table reflect the firelight, making the symbols glow under the moonlight. She was going to die, wasn’t she?~Bella just wanted to do something a little different for Halloween, not get caught up in a world of legends and supernatural creatures and definitely not becoming blood bound to one.
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!! I accept all constructive feedback!

_“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.” - John Muir_

_~~_

Cozy in Jake’s garage, Bella watched him flit around an ancient looking car. Apparently he found the rust bucket for cheap and was determined to flip it for a profit. If he was a less skilled mechanic, she would have scoffed. But he was unfortunately skilled, so if she wanted to see Jake, she had to spend her evenings in his garage with him. Bella's job was to toss over tools when he requested them.

“So Halloween is coming up. What do you want to do?” Jake asked, his voice muffled by the engine he was elbow deep in.

Jake and Bella have always sent Halloween together, ever since they were little kids. They used to wear matching costumes, carrying around little plastic buckets, going house to house, begging for candy. Some of Charlie’s most favorite pictures are from Halloween.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Haunted House?” 

He immediately frowned at her over his shoulder. “No! We always go to a haunted house!” He complained. “They are so boring. Pick something else.”

She rolled her eyes. “Hayride?” She tried next.

“You want to ride around Old Man Jenkins farm in a hay covered trailer while he tells the entire history of Forks?” He scoffed. “Wrench?” 

She searched through the toolbox for the tool. “Yeah, ok, let’s not do that. Um...what do other teenagers do?”

“I guess we are too old for trick or treating.” 

Bella tossed the wrench his way. “Maybe I am, but with your baby face? Charlie would enjoy more photos of us in matching costumes, I’m sure,” She teased.

He easily caught the wrench. “Only if you dress up as the old lady you are,” He teased back.

“Oh, I didn’t know you wanted to dress up as an old lady too,” She smirked.

Jake tossed his dirty rag at her and she barely dunked in time to have it sail over her head. She shot him a playful dirty look. “We could go see a scary movie?” He suggested.

She made a face. “Eh, we always watch movies together. Let’s do something different.” She picked up the dirty rag and tossed it back.

Jake shrugged and caught the rag midair. “Well then, you’re going to have to come up with an idea. I’m all out.” He turned back to the engine.

She groaned, letting her head fall back. “Ugh, fine. I’ll ask around at school.”

~~~~~

The next morning, when she arrived at school, the parking lot was fairly empty and none of her friends had arrived. She pulled into a spot fairly close, got out and pulled down her tailgate. Sitting down and fishing out _Pride and Prejudice_ from her backpack, she decided to read until her friends arrived. 

Getting into her book, she almost missed the flash of silver that pulled into the lot. Glancing up, she watched a shiny silver Volvo pull gracefully into a spot not far from hers. She almost grumbled. The Cullen family was relatively new to town, only moving here not quite 3 years ago, but to such a small town? They were still news. Their adopted, doctor father kept them all living quite comfortably, which usually drew even more attention to them.

While they were nice if you talked to them, they usually kept to themselves. Bella herself had only ever talked to Alice and Edward, the latter her unfortunate Biology partner. She didn’t hate Edward, just preferred to not to be around him. He seemed to always be staring at her, and it kinda creeped her out. Their conversations were strange too, so she tried to avoid that too. 

Still pretending to read, she watched from the corner of her eye as the beautiful family climbed out of the car like they were supermodels. Bella was secretly a little jealous she would never be that graceful or elegant. 

Bella turned back to her book resolutely. It was the Netherfield ball and one of her favorite scenes.

Just as she was getting caught up in the dance between Lizzy and Darcy, the Cullen's conversation caught her attention.

“-an old folk tale about an altar in the middle of the woods. It’s supposed to be super creepy,” Not turning her head towards them, Bella easily recognized Alice’s silvery bell-like voice.

“There’s just an altar in the middle of the woods?” Another voice asked, deeper this time with a slight twang in the accent. Jasper maybe? Bella didn’t dare lift her head to check.

“That’s what Mom heard. The natives even have legends about it,” Alice’s voice was nonchalant.

A high pitched, lilting laugh rang out. It didn’t sound like Alice. Rosalie? 

“What?” Alice sounded offended.

The same lilting high voice responded with a derisive tint to it.“I highly doubt there’s anything that exciting in this dull little town.”

“Scared, Rosalie?” That voice Bella would have recognized anywhere. The voice that haunts her dreams. The low, musical tones wrapped her and she found herself tilting her head to catch a glimpse of the owner. Bella caught herself in time, thankfully. 

Bella cursed her attraction to Edward every single time he even looked at her. A fire always started low in her abdomen, and her skin felt like electricity was running over it and her eyes always seemed to find his. She always knew when he entered her room and where he was in the room and when he left. He refused to even leave her in peace at night, her dreams filled with his voice and eyes. Of late, they had been getting steamier and steamier, which didn’t help her everyday interactions with him. How could she sit next to him in Biology, work as his partner, all while wondering if his lips taste as good in real life as in her dreams? What his fingers would feel like trailing down her body, teasing and tempting? What it would be like to run her tongue down-

“It’s not nearly as scary as people make it out to be,” Rosalie tossed back, interrupting Bella’s train of thought. Her face turned red regardless and heat coiled low in her belly. 

“If you’re not scared, you should spend the night there,” Edward challenged, his voice taking on a competitive edge. God, that tone did things to her. Bella clenched her thighs and tried not to move too much and draw attention to her eavesdropping. 

“Yeah, babe! We should!” A loud, booming voice agreed. Emmett, Bella guessed, considering Cullen's left. 

A dismissive snort and a click of heels told Bella Rosalie was done with the conversation. “Babe!” Emmett called after, racing to follow her. Bella glanced at them out of the corner of her eye.

Alice’s silvery laugh followed them and soon she appeared in the corner of Bella’s vision, Jasper’s hand locked in hers. They followed Rosalie and Emmett into school. That only left one Cullen behind….

Bella shifted her head to create a dark curtain on either side of her head, trying to refocus on _Pride and Prejudice_ , but she could feel his electric stare. A shiver ran through her body as she felt his stare bore into the side of her head. 

“Bell-a,” the breeze seemed to whisper, whipping her hair around her face. She swallowed hard and ignored its call.

“Bella,” It whispered again, this time in his low, musical tones brushed against her, pulling her eyes from her novel. She resisted a little, keeping her eyes firmly on the blacktop as her head turned towards the voice. 

“Bella,” This time, it was crystal clear and irresistible. Her eyes trailed over his figure, half obscured by her truck, one hand on her truck, the other braced against the tailgate, leaning towards her. Her eyes found his and she was lost. Their golden color pulled her in and suddenly, there was nothing but him. Her lips parted to breathe in his sweet, yet woodsy scent, tasting it on her tongue. The fire grew within her and she wished for nothing more than to touch him and taste him.

“Edward,” Her voice came out barely audible as she leaned towards him too.

“Bella,” He breathed back, his hand leaving the truck bed and reaching towards her. Bella closed her eyes as his hand closed in, desperate to memorize his every touch.

“Bella!” A voice broke through her hypnotic bubble and Bella’s flew open as she whipped her head around. Jessica Stanley strode resolutely across the lot, her hand raised in greeting. 

Bella didn't return the gesture as she whipped back around to her other side, only to glimpse Edward halfway across the parking lot, heading towards the school. Bella blinked, unsure of what she had just experienced. She was almost positive Edward was leaning up against the side of her truck, reaching out to touch her, but that wasn’t possible, was it? He couldn’t cross the parking lot that fast, could he? Bella shook her head, deciding her stupid schoolgirl crush was getting the best of her. She was daydreaming about him in broad daylight, for heaven's sake! Edward had made it quite clear that no one at this school was good enough for him, why would she be any different? She had been going to school with him since freshman year.

She turned just in time as Jessica arrived at her truck, hopping up to sit next to Bella on the tailgate. “Was that Edward Cullen? God, he’s such a hottie. I would totally climb him like a tree.”

“Yeah,” Bella wasn’t quite sure what she was agreeing to because she agreed with all of Jessica’s statements. Yes, it was Edward Cullen. Yes, he was a hottie. Yes, given a chance, Bella would climb him like a tree. She would rid him of his perfectly fitting shirts and explore every inch of his chest with her hands and mouth. Then, after she was done there, she would reach for the real prize, his pants and-

“You should ask him out,” Jessica smirked at her with an all knowing look. Gosh, were her thoughts that visible on her face?

“And get rejected like all the other girls in this school?” Bella snorted. “No, I’m good fantasizing about ‘climbing him like a tree’ and never acting on it,” Bella did air quotes with her fingers with a smile.

Jessica giggled and hopped off her truck. “I got to tell Angela you get all hot and bothered by Edward Cullen!”

“Jessica!” Bella cried out as Jessica jogged toward Angela, already hanging out by Tyler’s party van, Ben’s hand firmly in her own. Bella hopped down, shoved her book back into her bag, slammed the tailgate shut and chased after Jessica, a huge smile on her face the entire time. 

~~~

When Bella sat down at their lunch time, Jessica was in the middle of some huge gossip. “Allie almost pulled out Tessa’s extensions. Mr. Bauman had to pull them apart. ”

Bella could only keep up with half the name Jessica was spouting, and didn’t bother to try and follow the story. Her mind kept floating back to the conversation she overheard this morning. While she hadn’t been in Forks for her entire life, she’d been here long enough and she had never heard of any altar. Could what Alice was saying be true? That, somewhere, buried in the dense pacific rainforest, an altar sat? She wondered if Jake would be up for a bit of adventure on Halloween. 

A lull in the conversation at the lunch table gave her an opportunity to ask about it. “Have you guys ever heard of an altar in the middle of the woods?”

“An altar?” Angela frowned. “I haven’t heard anything like that. Where’d you hear about it?”

“I overheard Alice Cullen talking about it this morning,” Bella shrugs. “I was thinking of maybe checking it out this weekend.”

“This weekend is Halloween. Is that even a good idea?” Jessica asked.

Mike leaned forward, his voice low. “And you heard this from Alice Cullen, who is most likely a witch?”

Bella shot a dirty look at Mike. “Alice is not a witch!” 

“You don’t have any proof she’s not a witch,” Eric pointed out. “She always knows what’s going to happen, I swear.” 

Mike nods in agreement. “What if she’s leading you out into the middle of the woods to sacrifice you to the devil?”

Jessica leaned in too, engrossed in the conversation. “I bet they are part of a cult. That’s why they are so strange and keep to themselves.”

Bella gasped. “What in the world! Why do you guys dislike the Cullens?!” She turned to Angela. She was always the nice one. “Help me!”

Angela looked deep in thought. “What if Edward Cullen can read minds? He always seems to know what I’m thinking.”

“I’m leaving!” Bella stood up, grabbed her stuff and stormed off. Their laughter followed her out of the lunch room. 

Bella was so furious. What is wrong with people in this town? The Cullens have been nothing but nice since they moved here 3 years ago. Dr. Carlisle Cullen could have been working in a world renown hospital, but he was instead here, in a small little town, deep within the Olympic rainforests. Sure, they were a little weird and tended to keep to themselves, but that didn't mean it was okay to spread insane rumors about them like that. 

Her fuming walk ended up at her locker. She opened it on rote, before staring into her locker and realizing she needed nothing from. With a huff, she slammed it shut, only to reveal Edward Cullen leaning against the lockers next to it. 

“Oh!” Bella gasped, resting a hand over her heart. Edward’s eyes followed the motion of her hand, before meeting her eyes and giving her a stunning crooked smile. 

“I’m sorry for startling you,” His musical tone apologized.

Bella shook her head, blood rushing to her face. Damn, that smile. “It’s okay. I didn’t hear you. You just startled me a bit. I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest.” 

His eyes dropped to her chest again, and when he met her eyes again, they were dark and burning. “No, we wouldn't want that.” His smile became just a bit darker, causing a small wisp of attraction to coil in her gut.

Bella laughed awkwardly. She had a strange feeling that he could hear her heartbeat perfectly clear. Maybe this is why people in the town had strange theories about the family. Something was slightly uncomfortable about them. “Did you hear what they said at lunch?” 

Edward shrugged. “It happens everywhere we’ve lived. It doesn’t bug us anymore.”

Bella frowned at his nonchalance. “Just because it happens doesn’t make it ok. I don’t think your family are witches or in a cult.”

“Do you think I can read minds?” He suddenly was staring at her with a strange intensity.

“What?” Bella laughed awkwardly. “Of course not! Don’t be ridiculous,” Bella scoffed, trying to lighten the tension in the air.

An easy smile formed on his face. “What? You don’t think I go around listening in on everyone’s personal thoughts?”

Bella rolled her eyes. “Well, if you can, you’ve definitely never read mine.”

His eyes trailed over her forehead, like he was trying to listen in on her mind. “No, definitely never read yours.” He murmured. 

The 10 minute warning bell rang. Bella sighed and started towards class. “Come on, let's get to Bio.”

Edward easily caught with her. “So, are you doing anything fun for Halloween?”

Bella shrugged. “Well, my friend and I are probably going to hangout. What we will do is up in the air.”

Edward’s interest peaked. “Oh? Anyone I know?”

Bella shook her head. “Probably not. He’s from the rez.”

“He? Your boyfriend?” His tone had a strange edge to it.

Bella laughed, “Oh gosh, no! We used to make mud pies as children. He’s my best friend and nothing more.” She had been asked that question one too many times.

Edward seemed to relax. “That’s good.”

She wasn’t quite sure what he meant. It’s good she has such a good friend? It’s good he’s not her boyfriend? Bella shook her head, not wanting to dissect it at this moment. “What about you?” She asked. “What are you doing for Halloween?”

Edward smirked, like he was in on a joke. “I’ve got an incredibly important event to attend with my family.”

She frowned. “On Halloween? That doesn’t sound fun.”

“Oh, I’ve been waiting years for this event. I’ve been practically counting down the hours. Halloween in the perfect time to bring together our extended family. This so rarely happens, it will be a celebration all weekend long.”

“Are you sure you aren’t in a cult?” A smile played on her lips as they reached the Biology classroom.

He laughed, opening the Biology door for her. “I’m pretty sure I’m not, but then again, people in cults usually don’t realize they are in a cult.”

Bella sat down at their table. “Maybe I can help you figure it. What are you celebrating? Any sort of worshipping involved?”

Edward shook his head, chuckling. “No, no worshipping of anything.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “It’s kinda like a wedding, I suppose. A joining of two individuals into one. A declaration to the world of your life partner.”

“That sounds super romantic. Who's getting married?”  
  


Edward shook his head. “It’s not marriage. It’s something more…archaic than marriage. It’s...like a binding of two lives together,” He paused, seemingly at a loss for words before shaking his head. “I don’t know how to describe it.”

“Okay,” Bella said slowly, trying to understand his strange statement, “so who's getting...bound together?” 

Edward let a huge smile spread across his face. “I am.”

Bella gasped, her mouth dropping open. The world around her suddenly seemed far too close and out of focus as her mind spun. A distance clatter rang in her ears as her heart clenched. Edward was getting married-no bound-to someone? Someone who wasn’t her? Emotions rolled in her chest, most she couldn’t pick apart. Shock, sadness, anger and jealousy bounced around inside her as she tried to gain control of herself. Her crush on Edward had definitely gone too far. 

She was vaguely aware Edward was saying something to her and she met his stunning golden eyes as he held her pencil out to her. When had she dropped that? She tried to take the pencil from him but her fingers seemed unable to grasp anything. He ended up setting it on the table in front of her.

His musical voice broke through her strange emotional bubble, but she couldn’t process his words.

“What?” Her voice sounded strange to her ears, breathless and strained. 

He put a hand on her arm, fully popping the bubble that surrounded her. “Are you okay?”

She took a ragged breath in as cold seeped into her skin from his hand. “Yeah, I…” How in the world did she explain her complete and totally overreaction to his news? She had no say in who he married. “I’m just shocked. You’re a bit young to be getting...bound.”

Edward let go of her. “I’m not that young,” He said with a smirk.

The bell for class to start rang, and Bella attempted to turn her attention to class, but the spot where he touched her had turned into electric warmth. She swore Edward’s eyes never let her once, but she didn’t check. She had enough emotional rollercoasters for today.


	2. Chapter 2

When she got home from school, she called up Jake.

“Geez, Bells, I just got home,” Jake complained as soon as he got the line.

Bella smiled into the phone, “I had to call you before you got into that garage and back to working on that rust bucket.”

“You’ll be eating those words as soon as I sell the ‘rust bucket’ and I have more money in the bank than you,” His voice took on a playful annoyance. 

She laughed, “Oh, so you’ll be buying us pizza, not the other way around?” 

“In your dreams,” He laughed. “So, what’s up?”

Bella pinched the phone between her shoulder and chin as she started pulling out supplies for dinner. “I think I found something to do on Halloween.”

“Really?” He sounded surprised.

Bella furrowed her brow with a small smile. “You didn’t think I’d come through?”

“Well, I usually plan what we do,” Bella could imagine the shrug that went with his words. 

“Well, I have an idea this time,” Her tone was more defensive than she would have liked. Her emotions were still on edge from earlier that day.

“Okay, okay, I didn’t mean to offend you. What were you thinking?” He tried to placate her.

Bella sighed, feeling guilty. Leaning against the counter, she rubbed her forehead. “No, I’m sorry. I had a strange day at school. My emotions have been all over the place.”

Jake suddenly sounded concerned. “What happened? Do you want to talk about it?”

Bella considered it for a moment, but she wasn’t sure she could explain what had happened to her. She shook her head. “Maybe later. I don’t know if I want to talk about right now.”

“Okay. I’m always here if you need to talk,” He told her.

“I know,” Bella smiled.

“So, your idea?” He prompted.

“Have you ever heard of some creepy altar that is in the middle of the woods?” Bella asked as she started the rice for dinner. When there was no response on the other end, she frowned. “Jake?”

“How’d you find out about that?” His voice was guarded.

“Some kids at school were talking about it,” She explained, still frowning. “What’s wrong? Do you know about it?”

“I do,” He said slowly, like he wasn’t sure if he should admit to knowing about the place. 

“Have you been there?” She bit her lip, unsure of what was wrong.

There was a pause on his side of the line. “I have,” He admitted hesitantly. 

“Really?” Bella breathed. “When?”

“It’s kinda like a rite of passage on the rez,” Bella could almost hear his shrug.

“Rite of passage? So you’re a man now? When did that happen?” She teased.

“The night after my 15th birthday. Quil and Embry dragged me out there. I am a man now, thank you very much.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Quil and Embry dragging you on a hike makes you a man,” she giggled.

Jake snorted. “You’re just jealous you didn’t get invited along.”

Bella schooled her voice to sound very serious. “Yes, very much. Hiking with Quil and Embry sounds just...” Bella trailed off with laughter. “But seriously, how was it? Worth a visit from us?”

Jake seemed to contemplate it. “I think so, especially on Halloween. Maybe something strange will happen.”

“So is it spooky or something?”

“It’s strange there. It’s..” He trailed off. “You’ll see when we get there.” 

Bella let a huge smile spread across her face. “So it’s a go for Halloween?”

“It’s a go,” He agreed. “We’ll have to camp out there, though. It’s a bit of a hike to get out there.”

Bella raised her eyebrows. “We’re going to camp next to the creepy altar?”

“Yeah, sure, why not? Unless you are too scared?” Jake challenged.

“Never,” Bella grinned into the phone.

~~~~

“Come on, it’s not that much further!”

Jake easily led Bella through the thick pines, brushing aside branches, following a path invisible to her eyes. 

The days before Halloween passed by quickly, and before Bella knew it, Jake and her were hiking through the thick Olympic rainforest, in search of a mysterious altar.

Ducking under a tree beach, she spoke up. “Are you sure we aren’t lost? We left the trail a long time ago.”

He rolled his eyes. “That’s ’cause it’s not on the trail.”

Bella glanced at the sky. it was already darkening into early evening. “It’s getting late. I didn’t think it would take us this long to get here.”

“We’re almost there,” he smiled, lifting another branch out of the way. “And then we’ll set up camp.”

“We better be,” She grumbled, her feet already aching and her pack weighing her down.

“Ah, here it is!” He grinned, pushing her between two pines and into the clearing.

Immediately, everything felt different. The world was more vivid and bright, like a neon filter had come over her eyes. She could taste the air on her tongue, leaving behind a strange tang. She felt as if the clearing was electrified and she was standing too close to the source. Goosebumps erupted up across her skin as her hair stood on end. It was like she had stepped into a different world. 

Her eyes quickly found the epicenter of the clearing. There, in the middle of the clearing, stood a rough stone table. Common enough looking, three gray stones cobbled together to create a structure. Grass, flowers and vines gathered at its base, yet none dared touch it. Common as it was, the energy it gave off was something else. It was the source of the strange feelings and energy in the area. 

Bella found herself drawn to it, like it was calling her name, and her feet found a path among the meadow grass. Stopping in front of the stone table, she observed that the top of the table was cut completely flat and strange symbols were carved into it. Her hand stretched out to touch the strange symbols, only stopping mere inches above the surface. The energy in the clearing had shifted, as if it were holding its breath, waiting for her to touch the stone and fulfill her destiny. Whatever destiny that was.

“Pretty spooky, huh?” 

Bella jumped and yelped, breaking out of whatever spell she’d been under. “Holy fuck, Jake. I almost had a heart attack,” Around her, the clearing released its breath, relaxing its hold on her. She laughed awkwardly as she rubbed her arms, willing the strange feelings to leave her.

Jake laughed, slapping her back, “Scared you pretty well, huh? Don’t be afraid. I’ll be here to protect you.” 

“My hero,” She deadpanned, before shooting him a smile to assure him she wasn’t mad. 

Jake grinned back, before turning to the clearing, “What do you think?” 

She glanced around. “It’s got a really weird vibe.”

He nodded, looking around. “Dad says it’s the magic that creates the cold ones.”

“Cold ones?” Bella lifted an eyebrow.

Jake looked at her, flabbergasted. “I haven’t told you the legend of the cold ones?”

“No?”

“But I’ve told you of the legend of the wolves who turn into men?” Jake asked. 

Bella smiled and rolled her eyes. “Ah, yes, your favorite; the werewolf one. I’m still waiting on you to turn into a wolf, you know.”

“Hey, you never know. Any day now, I’ll just start-” he took a deep breath and howled into the quickly darkening sky. 

She dashed forward, clamping down on his mouth, giggling. “Stop that! If we get attacked by wolves tonight, I’m blaming you.”

Jake grinned. “I’ll take full responsibility.” 

“So the cold ones?” She prompted, intrigued.

“I can’t believe I never told you about the cold ones. Probably ‘cause I'm not supposed to. Oh well,” He shrugged. “Well, you see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the werewolves. When the tribe was in danger from the cold ones, the strongest warriors among us would turn into their wolf counterpart and protect the tribe.”

“What are the cold ones?” 

“Blood drinkers. Leeches that suck all blood and life out of men,” Jake dropped his voice dramatically. 

“Like vampires?” She furrowed her brow.

“Exactly like vampires. They drink blood to survive. They can drain an entire village in a night. When my people chose this area as their home, they had no idea about this place and its importance to the cold ones. The cold ones would come for the villagers at night, decimating families. Even the strongest warriors in the tribe could not fight them off. They were too fast and strong for any human. Our brothers, the wolves, helped us, gave us the strength and power to fight off the cold ones and protect our home.”

“So, this spot, that altar, is where they create more cold ones?” 

“Maybe? I don’t know,” Jake suddenly laughed. “It’s just a silly myth, Bella. It’s not true.”

Her face flushed. “Yeah, um...it’s just really interesting.”

He threw an arm around her shoulders. “So, verdict? Pretty spooky?”

“Very spooky,” she grinned back. “Let’s get away from here before a coven of witches shows up and tries to summon the devil.” 

Jake easily led them to another clearing, not far from the strange clearing, and fat too close for Bella’s tastes. She could still feel the clearing, the abnormal energy reaching her, even now. She almost requested they make the few hour trek back to her truck, but she wouldn’t admit defeat. It’s just a silly little altar, Bella thought.

Between the two of them, their campsite was set up in no time. The tent put up, dinner keeping warm over the fire, a simple stew. The world around them dimmed quicker than Bella would have expected, but the thick canopy kept the dying light from reaching them. Wrapped in her sleeping bag, watching the fire’s light barely touch the edge of their campsite, a bizarre anxiety came over her. She’s never been terrified of the dark, but tonight, the air around them seemed to hold its breath, like it was waiting, biding its time. Like something was waiting, just outside the fire light, watching. 

With a huff, she stood up. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day,” she announced.

Jake nodded, drinking the last sips of his warm tea. “It has been. You get ready for bed and I’ll clean up.”

Bella paused for a moment, feeling a bit guilty for not helping, before almost rushing to the tent to get on her ratty sweats she used as pajamas. She could apologize tomorrow with pizza or something, but tonight, she was desperate to sleep the night away and wake up tomorrow morning, safe and sound. 

She was already bundled up in her sleeping bag, unable to sleep, when Jake got into their tent. She rolled to her other side, putting her back to him, giving him privacy.

“Already in bed?” Jake chuckled, getting into his comfy clothes for sleep. 

“I’m tired,” Bella responded, trying to hide her unease from him.

“Are you okay?”

Bella sighed. She could never keep her feelings hidden from him. “I’m just a bit spooked, I suppose. I see why you are considered a man after coming here.”

“Bella, it's just a silly legend. It’s not true. There aren't wolf men walking around the tribe and there aren’t blood sucking creatures hanging around in the woods. Even if there were, I’d protect you. I won’t let anything happen to you,” He promised.

Bella rolled over to look at him. He looked so earnest and she knew it was true, he would do his best to protect her. “I know,” she smiled. “Thank you.”

“Goodnight,” He smiled.

“Goodnight,” Bella muttered back, rolling back over. Her eyes focusing on the tent wall facing the clearing. She had such a strange feeling about that clearing. That stone table. She had to stay awake in case anything weird happened. But nothing did. The forest still sang its native lullaby and stayed dark. The moon rose high above the trees, adding a soft glow to the forest. 

Eventually, her eyelids drooped and she was gone from the waking world. 

~~

Voices were the first thing Bella heard when she returned to the waking world. Low and whispering, but indeed voices. In the background of that, a fire crackled and its sweet smell filled her nose. She slowly opened her eyes, groggy and confused. Focusing her eyes, she realized the wall of the tent had shadows playing on it. She blinked, trying to make sense of what was happening. Remembering that she was staring in the direction of the strange clearing, she panicked. 

“Jake!” She whispered, rolling over and shaking him in his sleeping bag. 

He groaned and pushed her off.

“Jake! This is serious! Someone’s outside! In the clearing!” Bella violently shook him now, panic creeping into her voice. 

“What?” He groaned, still half asleep. “There’s no one outside. Go to sleep, Bella.” He rolled over, away from her. 

Bella’s hands became claws, ready to dig into his fleas when a voice stopped her. 

“Bella,” a velvety, musical voice crooned. 

She whipped her head around, forgetting about Jake for the moment. The voice seemed to echo all around the tent and the flickering light from the clearing seemed to become brighter. Watching the shadows play on the tent, Bella could tell there were people over in the clearing, moving about. 

“Bella,” the voice wrapped around her, humming into her ear. 

Fog floated at the edges of her mind, making her thoughts just a bit fuzzy. “Who’s there?!” She asked, her voice shaking just a bit. She searched the area around her for a weapon, coming across a fairly large flashlight Charlie gave her, citing it could both be used for light and a weapon. 

“Come out, Bella,” the voice bid her. 

The fog enclosed more and more of her mind, leaving her quite dazed. Her feet somehow found her shoes and she stepped outside the tent, into the cool night air.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I may have diverged from Twilight canon….a bit…I’ll only apologize if nobody likes it.  
> So I’m a noob to AO3, so I didn’t realize my formatting from my docs to the website did not stick, so I apologize. I think it’s mostly better.   
> As always, enjoy!

Bella breathed in the cool air and let it clear her mind. The fog in her mind rolled back, hovering at the edges and her thoughts were clear again. The strong scent of campfire filled the air, and the strange energy from before brushed against her skin. Off in the distance, in the clearing, a fire burned. It sent long shadows all over the forest. 

Bella shifted into her feet. She should probably get back in the tent and either wake up Jake or pretend it was just a bad dream. But the fire flickering in the distance called to her. Who was out here in the middle of the night? Was it a coven of witches summoning the devil? Or perhaps cult? Or was it, as Jake said, the vampiric cold ones? Curiosity tugged at her and she quietly made her way across the forest floor, towards the clearing. 

The closer she got, the louder the voices got and the stronger the electricity was that ran over her skin. By the time she had reached the clearing, her hair was standing on end and she felt like she was standing next to a live wire. Glancing through the pines at the edge of the clearing, she could see a dozen or so people standing around the stone table, a big, bright fire blazing behind it. They all stood in a semi circle, all quietly talking in small groups around the clearing. On the stone table, an object lay, glinting in the shifting light of the fire. Trying to get a better view, she moved over to get a better look. 

Shifting the branches of the trees, she squinted her eyes to get a better look. It kind of looked like a blade. It’s blade reflected firelight, highlighting the razor sharp point on the end. An icy chill traveled down her spine and she stepped back to leave.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump and let out a strangled yelp.

“Joining us, my dear?” 

Bella jumped and whipped her head around to see Dr. Carlisle Cullen smiling eerily down at her. What in the world was the respectable doctor doing out here? She hadn’t seen him since she broke her wrist freshman year after slipping on ice.

“Er, no?” It came out like a question. “Sorry for interrupting your…” She glanced at the clearing. She had no idea what to call it. 

Carlisle kept his calm smile on his face. “Join us, I insist.” 

“Oh, no,” Bella protested, trying to be nice as possible as her instincts told her to run as fast as possible, but he easily guided her into the clearing. His hands were an immovable iron that Bella could not resist. 

They passed between two pines, and the world around them changed. It was like walking through a portal, and on the other side, everything looked the same, yet nothing felt the same. The air was thick and charged, prickling at her skin and she felt like she could barely breathe. She rubbed her arms to get rid of the goosebumps that had erupted. Something was wrong and Bella had to get out of here.

“Greetings, cousins! I’m so glad you could make it!” Carlisle let go over her to go greet a trio of beautiful blondes. 

Bella realized, with a gasp, that all the occupants of the clearing were stunningly beautiful. While they were the most beautiful people she had ever seen, they all glowed eerily in the flickering firelight. Something was off about them all, even Edward’s siblings she spied lurking in the corner. Something she never saw during the daylight hours that was highlighted in the dark. Shadows clung strangely to them, and their graceful movements looked predatory. Some stood perfectly still, not breathing or blinking, like strange living statues. Their eyes practically glowed in the dim light. She knew at that moment that these people were not human. They were the most beautiful and horrifying creature she’d ever seen. Bella edged back fearfully towards the pines behind her, desperate to be back at her tent and away from this nightmare.

Another pair of hands found her shoulders as a voice murmured in her ears, soft and velvety. “Leaving so soon?”

Bella turned to see Edward holding her. He was stunningly beautiful, as usual. Her little crush on him flared up, heat coiling in her core, and at the same time, she’s never been more afraid of him in her life. His beautiful, carved face was far too close to hers and his butterscotch eyes shone into hers. The shadows played across his face, making his face look more angular and less human. His teeth glinted just right in the firelight, and for a second, she swore they were pointed and razor sharp. She tried to jerk out of his grasp, but like his father, his hands were steel on her shoulders. Panic bubbled up her throat. 

“Edward? What are you doing here? What is happening?” Her voice reflected her panic. She hoped he couldn’t hear it. 

“Just a small family ceremony. Come, you should join,” His smile was beautiful, but it glinted strangely in the flickering flames.

Bella had a sudden flashback to their conversation in Biology. Was this the celebration he was talking about?

_Be nice,_ Bella thought, _and leave as fast as possible._ _Do not piss off these predators._

“Oh, no, that’s okay. I don’t want to intrude on your family ceremony. I know you were so excited about it. I have to be getting back to my tent anyway.” 

His hands didn’t move. “Oh, no, I insist. You're an integral part of this.” 

With unstoppable force, he steered her towards the stone table and the roaring fire. She tried to fight him, but his strength easily overtook her. She was deposited next to the stone table. 

Bella glanced at the altar, the firelight reflecting off its smooth surface. Circles, spirals and lines connected together in an unusual pattern, gleaming in the moonlight. An ancient looking knife, covered in gems and more symbols laid casually on the top. The blade itself was a strange dark glass that shone iridescently in the firelight. Panic started to choke her. She was going to die, wasn’t she? 

“Stay,” Edward smiled at her, squeezing her shoulder lightly. In a blink of an eye, he was next to his father and conversing with his family in low tones. The speed he moved barely registered in her confused mind. 

Bella glanced around the clearing, taking in the most beautiful faces she’d ever seen. One of the women met her gaze and Bella realized, with a gasp of horror, that her eyes were bright blood red. They were vampires, she realized with a start. The very same ones Jake was talking about. She took a step away from the table and then another. Every instinct she had screamed at her to run and never look back. 

With a sudden breeze, another pair of hands locked around her arm. Bella looked down into Alice Cullen’s glowing golden eyes. “Where are you off to?” She asked. 

“I-I ha-have to go…” was all Bella could muster. Her fear was making it hard to get words out.

“But you’ll miss the best part!” Alice pouted. “Stay! There’ll be a big party afterwards!” She begged.

“O-okay?” Bella didn’t even sound sure to herself. She was so lost and scared. She just wanted to get back to the tent, curl up next to Jake and forget this ever happened. If playing along would get her there faster, she’d do it. 

Alice gave her a huge smile. “Perfect!” Alice’s perfectly dull human teeth looked sharper in the dimming light. 

“Can I at least stand in the back?” Bella asked. 

Alice frowned. “Absolutely not. You’re perfect where you are!” Alice started to pick at Bella’s clothes, rearranging the ratty sweats she slept and brushing back her hair with a brush she pulled out of nowhere. She shifted Bella’s hair again, trying to get the mess on her head to cooperate. 

Alice sighed. “It’s the best I can do with what you’ve given me. I knew I should have brought a change of clothes but Edward disagreed,” She shrugged then, pecking Bella’s cheek. “You’ll do great!” And then she was gone to the other side of the clearing with her family.

With another whoosh of air, Bella found Carlisle standing next to her, with Edward on his other side. With a gentle clearing of the throat, Carlisle called the gathering to order. All eyes were instantly on him as they all froze. Like statues. Not moving a muscle. A shiver ran through Bella at the strangeness of the situation. _Play along, play along, play along,_ she whispered to herself, _play along and survive._

“Friends and family! Thank you all for making the journey here tonight! This is a very special occasion for our young Edward here. Like the vampires before us, we are gathered here to join two souls into one in an unbreakable bond. To choose his mate and bind them together forever!”

Bella swallowed hard. If she ever doubted what these creatures were or Jake’s stories, it was all wiped away in that moment. Vampires were real, and she was surrounded by them and she couldn't leave. Were all of Jake’s stories true? Would they drain her of all her blood? She glanced over at the dagger on the altar. Then the huge bonfire behind it. Would they burn her? Her eyes darted up and across the table to meet Edward’s. They burned into her soul and held in place. She absent mindedly wondered if his eyes would stay the beautiful gold color once her blood flowed through his veins. 

The small crowd started clapping and cheering and a feeling of foreboding settled over Bella, settling in her stomach like a stone. Bella wrapped her arms around her midriff, watching everyone closely. 

Carlisle raised his hands, quieting the crowd. “As many of you know, a vampire’s mate is their companion through our lives in the darkness. Someone to have and to hold, to spend our infinite lives with; our reason for continuing on. A mate is for life. Edward, please choose your mate.”

“My choice has been made since the day I met her,” Edward smiled at her; a beautiful, soft, gentle smile. Like he loved her. Foreboding crept along her limbs as she swallowed hard. “My choice always has been and always will be Isabella Marie Swan.”

Bella gasped. Had he just said what she thought? Had he chosen her? Sudden elation bloomed within her. He had chosen her! He wanted her like she wanted him! 

And then, her panic stepped in, bursting her bubble. He had chosen her. To be bound to. Forever. What does that even mean? She doesn't even know him! Whatever was happening, she wanted no part in.

Like before, everything became too much at once. The world closed in around her and her breaths came hard. Her ears rang and panic blinded her, but her feet knew what to do. With grace she had never once possessed in her life, she turned and ran, pushing her legs to move as fast as possible. She wasn’t quite sure where she was running, but as long as it was away, it was acceptable. She could figure out where she was later. 

She didn’t make it more than 3 steps before running into a hard wall. Her head bounced against, making her head throb painfully. She hissed in pain, grabbing at her head. The wall wrapped its arms around her and she froze. Looking up, the wall was wearing a perfectly pressed button down shirt. She tilted her head even further up to confirm what she already knew. 

“Going somewhere, my love?” Edward’s musical voice was soft, but it dripped with amusement. 

“Please, don't do this,” She begged him.

His face softened, and he brushed his cool fingers over her cheek. “It will all be over soon, my love,” he promised. “And then we’ll have forever.”

“No,” the words came out of her mouth softly at first, horrified. 

Then again, louder, “No.”

Something inside her roared and snapped. She didn’t know what was happening, but she wasn’t going to take it lying down. “No!”

She wrenched herself away from him, somehow escaping the icy cage of his arms. His face was frozen, eyes and mouth gaping, arms hanging limply. She almost turned to run again but her eye caught the sight of the dagger lying on the altar and in a split second decision, she lunged for it. 

Bella couldn’t tell what happened next. One moment, she was leaping, fingers reaching for the sharp, jeweled dagger and the next, Edward’s arms were around her, securing her body to his own and Alice stood in front of her, twirling the dagger, a mischievous glint in her eye. 

“Naughty, naughty, naughty,” Alice clicked her tongue. “I’m going to have to hold on to this, or else you’ll try to behead my favorite brother. 

Edward put her down, keeping firm hands on her upper arms. Bella glanced up at him. His face was hard and impassive, but his eyes burned like coals. Bella swallowed and shrunk away from his burning gaze. 

“We can continue. There shouldn’t be any more disruptions,” Alice assured Carlisle. She glanced at Edward, and he nodded back. She pranced off to the side of the altar, dagger still in hand.

Edward’s hands released their hold on Bella, rubbing her arms where she was sure there would be bruises tomorrow and then placing a hand on the small of her back. With a gentle push, she stumbled towards the altar, feeling numb. There was no escape from these creatures. She was trapped. She couldn’t run, she couldn’t fight. 

Carlisle cleared his throat. “Let two souls become one, bound together forever. You may blood bind with your mate.”

Bella’s head popped up. Blood bind? They were going to spill blood in front of more than a dozen vampires? Were going to spill hers? She was really going to die here tonight. 

Stepping forward, Edward took the dagger from Alice. Holding out his left palm, he drew the sharp tip across his palm. Blood bubbled up from the cut, or at least what Bella assumed was blood. In the dim light of the fire, it looked off. Not quite a dark enough color, and much too thick, like syrup.

As blood pooled in his palm, he looked at her, eyes still burning like coals and held the dagger out to her. 

“No,” she hissed at him. 

He growled at her and stepped forward, still holding out the dagger. Alice was at his side instantly, placing a hand on his arm. He growled at her and Bella used his distraction to grab for the dagger. If she could get the dagger, she could protect herself.

Bella was sure her left hand was going to curl around the handle of the dagger, but instead the sharp bite of the blade bit into her palm and fingers. She hissed and pulled back her hand. Alice was holding the dagger at the other end, winking at her. Bella glared at her. 

Peeking at her hand, a long cut crossed her palm and her fingers and the rusty scent of her blood hit her. She could practically taste it on her tongue.

Bella became painfully aware of their audience. Looking around, she realized that a dozen eyes, half of them a blood red color, were locked onto her palm, where blood seeped from the wound.

Edward watched as the blood welled up before meeting her gaze. While holding her gaze, he titled his palm over the altar and let his blood drip onto the symbols below. She watched with fascination as the blood rolled over the smooth surface, unnaturally filling all the symbols. In response, the symbols glowed even brighter.

Once his blood settled, Edward turned his gaze on her and he didn’t need to say anything for Bella to understand what he wanted. Bella gulped and clutched her hand close to her body. Blood trickled down her arm, staining the sleeve of the ratty sweatshirt she was wearing.

“Bella,” Edward held out a hand to her. Bella shook her head in response. She didn't quite know what the altar did or why it needed her blood, but she wasn’t letting any of her blood anywhere near it.

His eyes flashed sideways at Alice, who was suddenly statue still, eyes wide and unblinking. A second later, her eyes fluttered and she seemed to shake off what came over her. Her eyes flashed to Edward’s and with a small nod from him, Alice backed away from them.

Bella’s eyes jumped between them, trying to figure out what their seemingly silent conversation was about. Edward’s eyes found her eyes and he took a step forward, reaching for her. She took a hasty step back, but as was the theme of the evening, he was faster. With insurmountable speed, he snatched up her left wrist, making an unbreakable icy shackle with his hand, dragging her palm over to the top of the table. He flipped over her palm so it was facing the smooth, bloody surface of the altar and gently squeezed her wrist. Bella watched with horror as one single drop of blood welled up and formed a droplet. It hung on for a second, its connection to her wound becoming thinner and thinner before it let go, descending towards the carved symbols. 

As soon as it hit the surface, everything changed. With a bewildered gasp, something snapped into place inside Bella. Like a cord was suddenly connecting her and Edward together. She could feel him, like she was him. Each one of his breaths, his incredibly gentle grasp on her hand, squeezing more and more blood onto the top of the altar. With each new drop of blood, she felt the cord wind them together even tighter. The symbols on the altar glowed even brighter. Her heartbeat disappeared and in its place was a cold, lifeless organ, like the rest of her body. She realized that she wasn’t feeling her own body, but his. _Vampires don’t have hearts,_ she thought.

When the symbols were practically lighting up the clearing with its white light, Edward suddenly shoved her cut hand flat on the surface of the altar, following suit with his cut hand. The strange blood mixture in the symbols soaked her hand, mixing with her cut. Tingles started in her hand, and traveled through her body. She tried to tug her hand away, but Edward ignored her, keeping her palm pressed flatly against the table top and looked to his father.

“You may be bonded,” Carlisle announced.

With insurmountable speed, he pulled her wrist up and pressed it against his own. 

_...palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss..._

Instantly, her world was upended. The world swam and narrowed to just them. His blood mixed with hers, their palms locked together, binding them together. The fire burned brighter behind her. The altar practically was its own light source, glowing as bright as the moon. Cast in the white light of the altar, he wrapped his other hand around her head and pressed their lips together. She gasped as her senses were completely overwhelmed by his mouth on hers. If she ever imagined what it would be like to kiss him, it was nothing like this. She could never imagine this. The cord snapped into place, winded as tight as it could. Electricity jumped between them. Her blood simmered under her skin wherever he touched her. She couldn't get enough of him. His taste as she dipped her tongue out of her mouth. His scent as she breathed him in. The touch of his tongue when it met her own. The feeling of an utter rightness and belonging overcame her. 

She lifted onto her toes, desperate to be closer to him, but he lifted his head away, breaking their kiss. She groaned in protest, but he was impossible to bring back. She wasn’t strong enough. 

“My love, my mate, my life,” He whispered, laying her forehead on hers, before giving her a gentle, soft kiss that she desperately trailed after. 

He finally straightened, moving his lips completely out of her reach. Her fingers fell from his hair as he pulled away and he released the grip on her other hand. She quickly pulled it back to examine it. She expected to find it covered in blood, still bleeding from the long cut on her palm, but instead, her hand was completely unharmed with not a drop of blood in sight. But instead, it had left an intricate design behind, carved into the skin of her palm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Officially in Twilight illustrated guide, vampires have venom like substance to replace their blood...or something. I always thought vampires drink blood because they didn't have any of their own and they needed to replace it. So...here we are! Me making up shit left and right!


	4. Chapter 4

Brushing her fingers against the strange mark, she realized it was colder than the rest of her hand. It was a slightly paler color than her already pale skin. With each stroke, the invisible cord that connected them sparked alive, allowing her to feel him. Next to her, Edward stiffened. Glancing up at him, his eyes were half lidded and a fire burned behind them that her body echoed. Heat coiled in her core as she moved to do it again fascinated by his reaction. He wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her close.

“Stop that,” He whispered in her ear, his cool breath causing goosebumps to ripple across her skin. “We must thank our guests for coming before we can get to  _ that _ part.”

Sure enough, ‘their guests’ were all around them, smiling and clapping. 

“Absolutely not,” She seethed, breaking out of whatever trance she was in before, gripping his wrist and trying to shove it off her. 

Instead, he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “Be nice. They are here to celebrate us. They are so excited to meet you.”

“I’m not a child,” She bristled at him, trying to dig her nails into his skin. “Stop treating me like one.”

“No,” He murmured, his eyes trailing down her body and back up. “You are not.”

Even though she shot him her harshest glares, she couldn’t deny the coil of attraction that curled in her gut. He wanted her. Her, Bella Swan, an average, plain teenage girl. But she had to keep her head on her shoulders if she planned on making it out alive. 

“What if I promise that we’ll talk afterwards?” He bargained. “I’ll explain everything.”

Well, that was a tempting offer. But… 

“And then you’ll let me go?” 

“Let you go?” Edward’s arm tightened marginally. 

“Back to my tent.” 

“Yes,” He loosened his tight grip.

“Fine,” She grumbled. He smiled and turned towards their guests, satisfied. 

Alice was first in line and she launched herself at Edward, hugging him tightly, forcing him to let go of Bella.

“I’m so happy for you! I know how lonely you’ve been. I’m so glad you found your mate,” She turned to Bella, gathering her up in a huge hug, despite Bella’s protests. 

“We are going to be the best of friends! I’ve seen it!” She said with the utmost confidence. 

Pulling back with a huge smile, she gave her one last squeeze. “I’m so glad to call you my sister! We are finally a complete family,” Her iron grip lessened and she danced back. Bella stumbled back a few steps, but she didn't have a chance to get far. 

With a final thump on Edward’s back, Jasper let go of him to focus on her.

“Bella, you remember Jasper,” Alice introduced them. “He’s my mate.” 

“Welcome to the family,” Jasper held a hand out to her. 

Bella stared at it and then at him. While she recognized him from school, she’s never really interacted with him, with him being a year older than her. He was definitely one of the scarier Cullen siblings. She wasn’t going to shake his hand. She realized vaguely that she was being rude, but she was at the end of her patience tonight. 

Edward’s hand found the small of her back, nugging her lightly. “It’s okay,” He assured her.

  
Grumbling, Bella threw her hand into Jasper’s and was overwhelmed with a sudden wave of calmness that came over her.

Her eyes flashed to Jasper, astonished, but it was overpowered by the calmness. 

“Fascinating,” Edward breathed, eyes wide in wonder. “And nothing without the touch?”

Jasper shook his head. “I can barely feel her feelings, even with the touch.”

Bella gasped, ripping her hand away from him, horrified. He knew what she was feeling.

“She’s quite the mental shield, isn’t she? I’ve never seen one as strong as her before,” A golden eyed vampire with dark hair stepped forward. “Especially since she’s a human.”

“You can tell, Eleazar?” Edward asked.

“Barely, but I can feel it blocking me,” He confirmed. “I’m sure it will be even stronger once she’s changed.”

“Oh, are we testing out the new blood?” One of the beautiful blondes stepped forward, holding out a hand.

Edward immediately moved in front of Bella, hiding her from view, hand still locked around her wrist. A low rumbling sound filled the clearing and it almost sounded like it came from the man in front of her. 

“Oh, come on, Eddie. Just a little shock? It won’t even hurt her,” The blonde wiggled her fingers at them, a smirk playing on her lips. 

Another blonde stepped forward, grabbing the other’s arm. “Careful, Kate,” She cautioned. “You can’t tease such a  _ fragile _ bond.” 

Bella got the distinct impression that the beautiful blonde wasn’t happy with Edward. Edward’s face seemed to reflect her feelings, drawn tight, jaw clenched. Tension filled the clearing as the two vampires stared each other down. 

“Cousins,” Carlisle’s gentle voice broke through the tension. “I’m sure the newlybounds would like some time alone. Let us all retire to our home.”

Bella didn’t see what happened next since Edward scooped her up in his arms and then they were flying. The light of the fire faded away as they plunged into darkness. The world around her was dark, with the occasional flashes of moon through the treetops, but at the speed they were moving, it all blurred together.

When they stopped a few seconds later, they were standing in another part of the woods, a blanket spread across the ground, with dozens lit lanterns around the edges of the blankets and hanging from trees, lighting the area in a soft glow. 

“What is this place?” Bella gasped as he set her down.

“Just a little area where we can get some privacy. Alice said you’d like it,” Edward smiled, glancing around the area. 

Bella did like it, but she wasn’t about to admit it. She had other things to focus on. She tried to step out of the circle of his arms, but he seemed quite content to keep her there, brushing his lips against her hair.

“What are we doing here?” She asked, tilting her face off to the side, away from him as his face dipped towards hers. He took advantage of her exposed jawline.

“I’m a newly bonded man. It is typical for me to want to spend some private time with my new bonded mate.” His lips were cool against her skin, but left a burning trail behind. 

Electricity sparked in her blood, the bond jolting pleasantly with their every touch. She found herself tilting her head just a bit more, exposing more of her neck to him. “What does that mean? Bonded mate?”

He immediately took advantage of the more skin, his icy lips trailing down the pale length of her throat. She gasped, her fingers twisting in his shirt, her eyes falling closed. The bond between them burned hotter. 

“We are bound together by blood. That makes us bonded.”

Her eyes snapped open. That little asshole was being facetious on purpose. 

“Yes,” She said slowly and patronizingly, pushing him off her neck. His skin was smooth as rock and just as hard, cold and heavy. He lifted his head obligingly. She pulled her hair forward, hiding her neck from his view. She couldn’t think straight with him touching her. “I got that part. Are we like married now?” He still wouldn’t let her from the circle of his arms.

The smile playing on the corner of his lips let her know he enjoyed riling her up. “No, we are like blood bound.” He brushed her hair back again and his half lidded eyes wandered over the pale expanse. 

She slapped a hand on her neck, covering the vulnerable patch of skin. “I’m being serious. What in the world happened back there?”

He sighed dramatically, his annoyance quite clear on his face. She could still detect the playfulness that hid just below the surface. “Are you just going to ask questions all night?”

“Until I get answers, yes.”

He rolls his eyes and sighed. “Fine. We sacrificed blood to an altar, the altar blessed our union through our blood, and then we mixed our blood with the blessed blood, reintroduced it into our bodies together, as one, binding us together. Yours. Mine. Ours,” He showed her his own mark, identical to hers. Unlike on her skin, his mark practically blended in with his colorless skin. She could only see the imprint of their mark on his skin with shadows.

“That sounds like a marriage,” She shrugged with as much sass as she dared.

Instantly, she knew that was the wrong reaction. His arm around her tightened as he drew up his chest so she was eye level with him. She gripped his shoulders for balance as her feet kicked uselessly mid-air. She was about to tell him off but she caught sight of his expression. His eyes burned like coals, dark with a strange emotion. The bond between them twitched, causing a small spasm in her hand from her mark.

“My blood runs through your veins, mixing with yours, binding us together, tighter than any Human marriage. It is nothing like a marriage. Marriage pales in comparison to our bond,” His voice was velvet, deep and rich as his eyes burned into hers and left her half dazed.

Human. He had said human. Like he wasn’t. Bella swallowed hard, trying to find her courage. Her voice was small and quiet, almost a whisper. Like she was afraid to ask the question and hear what she already knew to be confirmed.

“What are you?”   
  


His eyes still burned like coals, yet his voice now held a hint of sadness. “You already know.” 

Her breath hitched as all he confirmed what he was. A million more questions popped up. She went for the most important.

“Are you going to...eat me?” Her voice shook, betraying her emotions. She was very aware of how close his face was as his sweet breath brushed against her face.

He laughed, his dark mood disappearing. He set her back onto the ground gently. She tried to step back, but his arms still held her firmly to him.

“What?” Her tone was filled with offense. She didn’t even try fighting his embrace. It wasn’t worth her time. 

“You think I went through all the work and pain to bind you to me, to eat you?” He smiled like it was the funniest joke he’d ever heard.

“You are a vampire,” She pointed out.

“My family doesn’t hunt humans. We hunt animals,” He rolled his eyes, like it was obvious.

“Animals? Like squirrels and bunnies?”

His mouth twitched with laughter. “More like deer, bears and mountain lions.”

Bella narrowed her eyes. “But no humans?”

“I haven’t tasted human blood in nearly 75 years,” He beamed with pride, smiling against her hair.

She gasped. “75 years?! How old are you?”

“17, just like you,” His carefree attitude was starting to rub her the wrong way.

“You know what I meant,” Her annoyance leaked into her voice. 

“I was born in 1901,” He leaned down to brush his lips over her forehead, becoming more serious. 

She couldn’t move away from his cool lips with his arms around her. “You’re over a hundred years old?” She wasn’t quite sure how to feel with that news. Was he a 17 year old trapped in a 100 year old body or a 100 year old trapped in a 17 year old’s body? 

He smirked against her skin. “I’m looking pretty good for an old man, don’t you think?”

Bella refused to give that a response. She had other matters at hand. Her attempts at creating distance between them were useless, so she figured little butterfly kisses he was sprinkling on her skin weren’t causing any harm. Besides, they felt good. 

“What about your brother and his...power?” She wasn’t sure how to phrase it.

He pulled back from her, looking down at her. “Jasper? He can feel and manipulate emotions,” Edward's mouth twitched. “I was wondering if his power was more mental or physical, and that proves my theory, on both sides, actually. He didn’t believe me.”

Bella blinked a few times, trying to make sense of his words. “Vampires have special powers? Can you manipulate emotion?” She leaned further away from him, his arm holding steady as she put more and more of her body weight on it.

Edward smiled, reaching up to grab a flyaway strand of hair and tucking it behind her ear. “No,” He tugged her closer, curling his fist in her hair, and kissed her forehead. “I can read minds,” He mumbled against her forehead. 

“What?!” She cried, even more horrified, suddenly desperate to get away. He was reading her mind the entire time? One hand pushed uselessly against his arm glued to her waist and the other pushed at his face, trying to move it from hers. 

He didn’t react to her desperate struggles, brushing another kiss against her forehead. She moved her head back an inch, his iron grip on her hair not allowing for much movement. She wedged her palm between his lips and her face and his tongue snaked out to lick her palm. The tip of his tongue drew strange patterns slowly on her palm, leaving a cool trail behind. 

She panted as a jolt of heat traveled through her, settling in her core, where it simmered slowly. His eyes burned with the same heat that coiled in her core. She ripped her hand from his mouth, and his mouth immediately found her face, laying gentle kisses against her hairline.

“Don’t worry, I can’t read yours,” He brushed a kiss against her temple. “No matter how much I want to.” His voice held a hint of sadness and she suddenly needed to see his expression, understand his thoughts.

She tried to turn her head, but his rigid grip on her hair wasn’t allowing much movement. 

“Is that what the other vampire meant? That I’m a mental shield?” Her voice was much more breathless than she expected.

“Yes,” He breathed in her ear, his cool breath fanning her ear. Another jolt of heat shot through her, coiling in her core. She shifted her thighs, trying to find some relief from the ache that started there. “Quite a powerful one, too.” 

His lips trailed too close to hers and she shifted her head to the side. He allowed it and chuckled lowly in her ear. The more she gave, the more he wanted and the more he took. 

“What about the blonde ones? You didn’t like them?” She tried to distract him from his quest to taste every inch of her skin. 

He pulled back thankfully, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “The Denali Sisters? Where would you get that idea from?”

“You growled at them?” Did he already forget?

“Oh, yes that,” He seemed to think this was an unimportant topic of discussion, as he tilted her head further back, exposing her neck to him. “Kate wanted to shock you, test her ability against yours. A completely ridiculous request, really, and Tanya is….Tanya.” 

“Tanya is Tanya?” Bella’s brow furrowed. His lips burned a cool path along her jaw.

“I enjoy Tanya as a person but she’s always trying to convince me to take her as a lover,” He found a particularly sensitive spot just under her ear and her fingers spasmed against his arms.

Lover. Such an old fashioned word. What did ‘lover’ mean to a vampire? “She wants to date you?”

Edward smiled against the thin skin of her neck. “Basically.”

A coil of jealousy curled in her gut. “Did you?” Her tone was colored with more emotion than she’d like.

He pulled back, all the way and she finally got a glimpse of his face. His golden eyes burned as they sparkled with a strangely pleased emotion. “Jealous, Bella?” A smile twitched in the corner of his mouth.

She twisted her lips but didn’t answer. Her silence betrayed her feelings and he knew.

He tugged on her hair, pulled her close, face to face, nose to nose. His cool sweet blew over her face and she couldn’t help but breathe in as much of it as she could. Her lips tingled with the knowledge of his own so close.

“No, never. I was never interested in her in that way and after meeting you, there will never be anyone else for me,” He promised, his lips caressing the corner of hers. “She knows that, but she has trouble accepting it.”

The world around her swirled with every sweet scented gasp of air. It was almost too much. His shirt twisted in her fingers and his arm around her waist anchored her to reality.

“We met when you started going to the same school as me freshman year, when you moved here. Why didn’t you…” Bella trailed off, unsure how to ask the question. She was still trying to wrap her mind around this. It was hard to think with Edward so close.

She could feel his lips stretching, the corners of his mouth tilting upward, against her own. “You were 14, going on 15. Far too young to turn and keep. But the amazing thing about you humans, time changes you, let’s you grow older, more mature. You wouldn’t stay a child forever. All I had to do was wait and as a vampire, all I have is time. I had time to plan for you, get used to your mouth watering scent and prepare to have you join my family as my blood bound mate,” He brushed his nose against hers and her breath caught in her throat at the sweetness of the gesture. “It’s always been you. What I’ve waited a hundred years for. Now that I have you, I won’t let you go.”

She gasped at his declaration, inhaling even more air, it’s sweet taste heavy on her tongue. The world around was weightless, like she was in space and the only thing tethering her to Earth was this icy creature in front of her. His words, smooth and velvet, went in one ear and out another. Something deep down screamed she was missing important information, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Edward laughed. A deep, throaty chuckle. It vibrated through her body as he pulled her even closer. “Tanya doesn’t hold a candle to your blinding sun. Your beauty, your warmth and your soul are the reason I live. Never doubt my feelings for you. I love you more than my own life.”

The declaration of his feelings was outlandish, yet perfect in the moment. The bond jumped, warming, tugging them closer. Staring into his golden eyes, everything and nothing made sense. The world around them melted away and there was nothing but them. 

“What do you want from me?” She whispered, her lips almost brushing his.

“Everything,” He whispered back and then moved forward to close the centimeters between them.


	5. Chapter 5

He carefully brushed his lips against hers, slowly, softly. Once. Twice. Three times and then he was fully pressing his lips to hers. His drugging kisses had her gasping against his cool lips and her heart responded in kind. The bond burned between, echoing every touch between them. His fingers twist in her hair, pulling her closer. His tongue slips inside her mouth, gentle but demanding, and it’s nothing like she’s ever experienced. He groaned softly, low in his throat and she echoed him, fingers trailing up his arms to wrap around his neck and angled her head to get closer, and taste more.

She reluctantly ripped her mouth from his when she ran out of breath, but he clearly didn’t have the same issue. He tilted her head back with gentle pressure on her hair as his mouth trailing down her neck, his cool tongue leaving a burning trail behind. She gasped for air as he continued his attentions, occasionally lavishing one area with more attention. 

The more cool night air she took in, the more her head cleared. Without his heavy scent blinding her, she could see, think and feel more clearly. “Wait,” She muttered, trying to get her tongue working. They shouldn’t do this. A million excuses ran through her mind, pounded in there by sex ed and her parents. 

He found her pulse, licking it once, twice, before wrapping his lips around it and sucking. Bella let out a strangled sound as her body jolted with pleasure. It was a strange sensation, the cool pressure of his mouth against her hot pulse. Something cold, hard brushed against her pulse, curving to a dull yet sharp point-

“Wait!” Bella practically cried, using both hands to push his face away from her neck, before he rips her open and she becomes a meal. 

He reluctantly releases the skin from his cool mouth, giving it a soft kiss, before straightening enough to look her in the eyes. His eyes were half lidded, lazily burning with lust. “Yes?” He purred. 

Her mind went blank. What was she distraught about? “Don’t bite me.”

“Not tonight,” He promised, ducking back in for her lips.

This kiss wasn’t as gentle or sweet, with his lips claiming hers. His solid lips bruised hers and she wanted more. She inhaled his scent as she pulled him closer, her tongue trying to dance with his. The bond vibrated, pushing and pulling on her, warping her sense of reality, until Edward and her were one and the same and there was nothing else. 

Her sense of equilibrium shifted and she was suddenly found herself on her back, being pressed into the blanket by Edward’s form. He slowly lowered his body onto hers and she shifted her thighs to cradle him. Her core ached as he let some of his weight rest on her.

Her fingers twisted in his hair as her hips rocked into his. With one hand, he pinned her hips to the ground. “Patience, love,” he purred into her ear. 

She groaned in response, throwing her head back. She felt insatiable and out of control. He sat up, still pining her hips to the ground. The dim light from the lanterns bathed him in a gentle glow and he was too beautiful and she couldn’t handle it. 

“Please,” She practically begged, her fingers reaching for him.

He closed his eyes. “Can’t deny you anything,” He groaned before diving back for her lips.

She was ready for him, licking and kissing his lips, letting his taste linger on her tongue. It was so sweet, like mint and sugar and something else exotic, alien, and addicting. His hands trailed from her hips to her waist, her ratty sweatshirt bunching around her waist. His cool fingers left icy hot trails all over her abdomen, tracing her every curve. Her nipples tightened in response and she suddenly wanted his fingers higher. 

Grabbing one of his hands, she guided it up to her breast and placed it there. The coolness of his hand was a relief from the fire that burned within her. He froze above her and his fingers twitched around her nipple, slightly twisting it and she threw her head back and moaned. He growled and pushed her sweatshirt all the way up to her neck, exposing her chest to his eyes. His eyes darkened with lust as the rove over her chest. Her core burned and her thighs shifted against each other uselessly. 

She needed this sweatshirt off yesterday. Her fingers fumbled with the sweatshirt, trying to rip it off her body. His cool fingers pushed hers out of the way as he easily removed the sweatshirt from her body and tossed it away. She didn’t watch where it went. The forest can have it for all she cares.

Both of his hands cup a breast, rolling its weight against his palms, thumbs occasionally brushing her nipples. Watching her carefully, he plucked each nipple, rolling it between her fingers. She moaned at the sensations, thrashing useless against him, fingers twisting in the blankets. He dipped down, moving his finger out of the way as he took one of her nipples in her mouth, his tongue wrapping itself around the stiff point. He gently sucked and she threw her head back as she arched her back. 

He switched positions, sucking the other one in his mouth as he played with the other. It felt so good but it wasn’t enough. She needed  _ more _ . 

“Please,” She begged him, her voice heavy with desperation. 

His eyes never left hers as his fingers left her breast and trailed down her torso, landing on the edge of her sweats. Icy fingers danced with the elastic, tugging on it, before dipping beneath it. His fingers trailed over her cotton panties, before pressing his hand against where she needed him the most, yet the cotton was still a barrier. She groaned as he teased her, his cool fingers brushing against her burning heat. His mouth left her breast, finding its way to her own. His tongue swiped at her lips as his fingers teased the edge of her panties. She eagerly opened her mouth to him and his fingers dived beneath the cotton. His fingers quickly warmed as he coated his fingers in her wetness. 

“So wet,” He crooned against her lips. She groaned.  _ God _ , that was hot. She thrust against his fingers, desperate for  _ something _ . Her fingers uselessly clutched at his hair.

“Please,” It seemed to be the only word she knew at the moment. 

“Ssh,” He shushed her with a quick kiss. “I know.”

His fingers dipped at her entrance and she held her breath. Slowly, he pressed one finger into her. It was amazing. It was not enough. She thrust her hips desperately against it but it still wasn’t enough. 

He seemed to know what she was thinking and pressed another finger into her. This one burned, stretching her, not terribly uncomfortable yet not terribly pleasurable. His thumb found the bundle of nerves above her opening and pressed against it. 

“Oh!” She cried out, surprised as her body spasmed under the jolt of pleasure. Edward captured the moan with his mouth, plundering her mouth with his own. 

He brushed against it again and again until she couldn’t see straight. Another finger slipped in, stretching her even more, but this time there was only pleasure. His fingers curled, pressing against her walls and the tension in her body started to build up, tightening more and more. 

She groaned in frustration, tensing up her muscles but there was no relief. Another thrust of his fingers and she felt she was at an edge, ready to tip over at any second.

“Let go,” He purred into her ear and she did. 

She tipped over, letting the sensations take her, spiraling her away from the earth. Release hit her like lightning, pleasure pulsing from her core, arching her back, feet, neck. Her fingers ripped at Edward’s hair as her vision blurred.

Gasping for air as she regained control over her facilities, she distantly registered Edward murmuring in her ear sweet nothings as his fingers eased her out of the remnants of her shockwaves. 

“So beautiful, my beautiful Bella, my sweet Bella,” He murmured as he tugged off her pants, only for them to get caught around her hiking boots. 

He lifted his body from hers, crouching at her feet to remove her boots and pants. She groaned at the loss of him, and tried to sit to find him but he’s there, pressing her back into the blanket. Her fingers grasped at his shoulders ready to pull him back to her, only to realize his shirt and clothes were missing.

Fascinated, her fingers trailed over his shoulders. His skin was a pure white color, cold to the touch, like a white marble Adonis had chosen her as his paramour. Her fingers continued down his chest, brushing against his nipples, making him growl deep in his chest. She watched his reactions closely as she continued her exploration down his hard abdomen, only to encounter something cold, hard and smooth, occasionally poking her in the stomach. 

Her eyes met his golden ones, keeping his gaze as she reached out to touch his erection. His gasp gave her courage and her hand was wrapping around his member. His eyes darkened and fluttered shut with her gentle touches. His breath fluttered around her face as he exhaled jaggedly and she breathed in his sweet scent deeply. The world around her tilted pleasantly as she let it overcome her. Her half lidded eyes met his and she pumped her fist down his member. A deep growl filled their personal clearing, the flames around them flickering in response. The bond between them resounded with pleasure and her hands were ripped from their task. She found herself, panting in desire, her wrists gathered up above her head in his cool hand, stretched out before him like an offering. 

His cool body hovers over hers, cooling the burning heat that radiated from her. He lowers his body to hers and her legs come up to cradle him instinctively. The bond reverberated between them and no words were needed. He pushed himself into her, slowly, letting her get used to every inch. It burned, but in the best way, his cool temperature soothing away any hurt. She was on fire inside and out and there was only one cure. 

He started slow, dragging himself in and out, over every ridge. It felt amazing, him reaching areas inside her she didn’t know she had, but it wasn’t enough. His leisurely thrusts reflected his mood, watching her face for every reaction, but he was completely in control. She wanted  _ more _ .

With her hands still trapped by his, she wrapped her legs around his waist, shifting the angle he entered and she groaned at the pleasure that it sparked. His eyes darkened at the noise and his hips suddenly thrust roughly and deeply inside her. She arched in his body, her hands clenching uselessly in his hand and her heels digging into his lower back, encouraging him to continue, but he continued his slow thrusts like he hadn’t just given her what she wanted. Using the leverage that she had gained from her legs around him, she thrust herself onto him, grinding her clit against his pubic bone, her eyes rolling back in her head.

Edward suddenly let go of her hands to grip her hips, stopping their depersate gyrations. Her hands immediately found his hair, wrapping her fingers in their silky lengths. His head fell forward, next to hers on the blanket.

“Bella,” He groaned against her ear, his velvety voice was ragged and desperate, like he was at the end of his control. “I can’t - I don’t-”

“Then don’t,” Bella crooned back, her hands trailing down his perfectly smooth, cool back.

That seemed to do it and suddenly he was thrusting into her with a speed that her hips couldn’t keep up with. Her moans fell from her mouth endlessly as the familiar pressure from before built up, coiling in her core and starting to spread through her. His hands left her hips to grip the blanket by her head, fisting it as a low growl came from his mouth. 

The growl vibrated through her and the coil building inside her broke and her vision went white. Ecstasy roared through her body, from her toes all the way to the tip of her head. Her body convulsed and her ear rang. She was dimly aware of the animalistic sounds that were coming out of her mouth and Edward’s equally uncontrolled growls as his pace picked up to impossible speeds. With one final growl, he joined her, linking their hands together, the bond sparked between them, sending another wave of pleasure shivering through her. A feeling Edward seemed to echo with a gentle grunt and shiver. He rolled to his side, pulling her along.

They lay there, curled around each other, hands linked, letting pleasure run back and forth between them. Conscious thought had yet to return to Bella’s mind as basked in their connection and the feelings it brings. Edward was perfectly content to leave butterfly kisses wherever he could reach and she had no energy to protest.

Edward groaned, breaking their blissful moment, and pulled her closer with a sigh. 

“Bella, love, you need to get dressed,” Edward murmured into her ear, running his cool fingers over her naked sides, kissing her neck. “Can you sit up?” 

“Mmmhmm,” Bella hummed, her head lolling to the side as she tried to nod. His fingers wrapped around her back, pulling her into a sitting position. The world swirled around her and her body felt like rubber, but after a few seconds, she could sit up on her own. He pressed a piece of fabric into her arms. Holding it out in front of her, Bella realized it was her old ratty sweatshirt she slept in. 

After a bit of struggle, she got it over her head, only to realize she had forgotten her arms. More twisting and pulling, one of her arms was stuck in an awkward position, with the sweatshirt fully covering her face. The world swayed and she lost her balance and started to tilt back against the blanket underneath her, but stone cold arms caught her. Edward easily untangled her from the sweatshirt, helping her pull it on properly.

He pulled her up to her feet, keeping a firm hold on her waist. Her hands found his shoulders, balancing her weight on them. His hands slid down to her hips, brushing his thumbs against her hip bones. Bella watched him on bated breath as he leaned forward and brushed a kiss against her lower belly, eyes locked with hers the entire time. 

  
“Edward,” Bella breathed, anticipation and heat curled within her core. She immediately thought she should be getting out of her clothes, not back into them.

Edward seemed to have the same idea as he tugged her closer, moving his mouth slowly over her skin to one of her hip bones, brushing another kiss against the protruding bone. “My love,” he breathed against her skin.

Her hands moved from his shoulders to tangle themselves in his bronze locks, tightening her grip on his hair as a cool tongue swiped across her skin. Her eyes closed with a sigh, enjoying the sensations. 

Edward froze under her fingertips, letting out a deep sigh, and removing his lips from her skin. Bella groaned in protest, tugging on his hair to bring him back.

“Not now, love,” He apologized, untangling Bella’s hands from his hair. “Alice is practically screaming at me to get you back to the pup you brought,” He kissed her palms, sparking the bond up again, before guiding them to rest on his shoulder. “And she always knows best.”

“Pup?” Bella asked, her mind still bit foggy, like she was floating in a cloud.

Edward chuckled. “Yes, the pup sharing your tent,” He tapped on one of her ankles and she obediently lifted it. “For now, he’s harmless, other than slightly inappropriate thoughts about you and making you smell terrible.” He helped her step into her ratty sweats that were her pajamas. 

Bella felt like she was only following half the conversation. The words coming out of his mouth made very little sense. “I smell?” She lifted an arm to smell herself. 

He tugged her sweats all the way up to her hips. “It’s nothing I can’t fix,” He murmured, suddenly standing in front of her, moving her hair out of the way so he could reach her neck, trailing kisses there. 

“I’m not wearing underwear,” She protested as he found a particularly sensitive spot under her jaw.

“Mmhmm,” He agreed against her skin. “Those are mine now. A little something for me to get through the hours until I see you again. And a little reminder to you of who you now belong to.”

Bella frowned, not sure she liked that phrasing. Edward Cullen did not own her in any way. She opened her mouth to tell him as much but he groaned against her skin instead. 

“Alice is threatening to come and get you if we don’t return soon,” He pulled back from her with one final kiss and then scooped her up bridal style.

Bella clung to Edward as they left the candle lit area into the dark forest at impossible speeds. The wind whooshed around her face was the only clue to how fast they were moving and she closed her eyes against it. Her stomach rolled at the speed and the disorientation. 

When Edward stopped running a few seconds later, they were in the strange altar clearing, the bonfire starting to burn out. Alice and Jasper stood in the middle of the clearing, hand in hand. Edward cradled her closer as a wave of exhaustion came over her, a yawn escaping her mouth. 

“My gosh, you take long enough,” Alice complained.

Edward rolled his eyes. “Like you and Jasper didn’t spend days in each other's company before returning to the real world.”

“You’ve exhausted her!” Alice cried, watching Bella yawn. “I don’t know if this was a good plan. We should have gone with mine. This would have been so much easier if she was a vampire. We wouldn’t have to worry about this then.”

“Or maybe we would,” Edward muttered, watching Bella rest her head against his arm.

“You have to hurry,” Jasper broke in, his gaze fixed on the forest, his brow furrowing. 

Edward’s eyes flickered to the dark woods. “I know.”

“Quickly, before I can’t see anything at all,” Alice’s eyes glazed over for a second before returning to normal. 

“What’s wrong?” The words coming out of Bella’s mouth slurred and she couldn’t quite figure out how to get them out correctly.

Alice’s mouth twitched. “She’s going to be exhausted tomorrow. So much for my party.”

“I’m sure everyone will understand,” He murmured. “Let’s go.” And they were flying through the dark.

They stopped somewhere after another second or two, too dark for Bella to understand what was happening. She could barely see Edward, the one holding her close in his cool arms. 

“Jasper?” Edward asked and another cool hand touched hers and a wave of exhaustion overcame her and with a final yawn, she let sleep take her under, snuggling into Edward's shoulder. 


	6. Chapter 6

###  Chapter 6

Sunlight streamed through the tent, shining into Bella’s eyes, pulling her out of her dreamless sleep. She stretched lazily, feeling every sore muscle in her body. She groaned, never been quite this sore, but there was a pleasantness to it that left her content to lay around. It was like all she needed to get rid of tension from her life was a good hike. She’d have to convince Jake to take her hiking more often.

Stretching her hands above her head and she spotted some dark marks on her wrists. Frowning, she pulled her wrist closer to her face for inspection. Brushed her fingers against the marks, expecting dirt to rub off, but she hissed in pain instead. Those were bruises. Finger shaped bruises. 

_ Cold, hard hands holding her wrists above her head, holding her in place as he shifts, letting his length press into — _

With a gasp, she sat up, and immediately moaned as her body protested. It was a dream. It had to be. Nothing this insane could ever happen in real life. Swallowing hard, she slowly flipped over her hand, scared of what she would find. There, in the center of her palm, sat a pale familiar mark.

The mark was paler than her skin, the snow white mark contrasting with the peachy tone of her skin. In the sunlight, she could more clearly see the intricate lines, curving and curling together, creating a beautiful labyrinth design. The mark was carved into the skin of her hand, so unlike a scar, and with another tilt of her palm, it shimmered, throwing rainbows around her, like she had tiny diamonds embedded into her skin. 

With trembling fingers, she brushed against the mark and then she was no longer in a tent in the middle of the woods. She was sitting at a piano in a light and airy room, her fingers flying across the piano. Except those weren’t her fingers and it wasn’t her playing. It was like she was an outside observer, with no control over any movements, stuck in someone else’s mind and seeing things through their eyes.

The fingers paused their playing and a velvety, familiar voice filled the air.

“Good morning, Bella.”

All of a sudden, she was thrown back into her body. Her ears began to ring, her breath rate increased until she was gasping for air and a cold sweat broke out over her body. 

She must have made some noise, because there was a groan from behind her. 

“Bella?” Jake's familiar voice called out. It was weak and groggy, like he barely had energy to speak. 

Bella looked over, finding a very sweaty and sick looking Jake curled up in his sleeping bag. His normally russet skin was pale and covered in sweat, his long silky hair was a tangled mess and he was panting quietly. His eyes were glazed over and could barely focus on her.

“Jake? Are you feeling alright?” Bella asked.

“I’ll be fine, just a few more minutes of sleep and then we can get going,” He assured her weakly before closing his eyes.

“You don’t look fine. Do you have a fever?” She touched his sweaty forehead to confirm. “You’re burning up! I have to go get help!” She immediately started looking for her stuff.

“Don’t be annoying,” Jake muttered, buried in blankets. “I’ll be alright. I don’t need rescuing.”

“Jake, it's a few miles to hike back to my truck! I can’t carry you!” Bella shook her head, and started to get up. 

His hand shot out, gripping her wrist, his burning hand stopping her in her tracks. “Why do you smell terrible?” 

A memory came to her suddenly, foggy and unclear, of a velvety voice murmuring to her.  _ For now, he’s harmless, other than making you smell terrible. _

She cleared her throat. “Because I had a very sweaty hike yesterday and I haven’t had a chance to bathe?” She tried playing it off. 

Jake’s brow furrowed. “No, it’s not BO. It’s...like sweet. Too sweet. Sickeningly sweet.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust. 

She wondered if Jake could actually smell the vampires on her. She did remember Edward having a particularly sweet smell, but it wasn’t offensive. It was amazing. 

“Well, I don’t know where that could have come from,” she tried to sound casual, but most likely failed. She was always a terrible liar. She tried to change the topic. “So, I’ll start packing up camp and you get dressed. Are you sure you want to hike out to my truck? It’s pretty far. I could go get help and —“

“No, I’ll be fine! Now get out so I can get dressed.”

She stumbled out of their tent, and started packing up their supplies into their packs. Her body ached with every movement, especially the area between her legs. It only served as a reminder of what happened last night, a night she was desperately trying to block out.

What was wrong with her? Having sex with Edward? After forcible being bonded or whatever to him? She can’t quite explain what happened the night before. It was like she was under the influence, but of what, she didn’t know. She was out of control, wild thing last night, taking what she wanted and giving it her all. 

She shook her head, wondering when her life got so crazy. One day, she’s a normal teenager, living in a small town, and the next, she’s blood bound against her will to a vampire of all things, and she’d willingly had sex with him. She didn’t even want to touch on the subject of the existence of supernatural creatures. It was too much to unload at once. 

She wished she had someone to talk to. A sudden urge for a mother came over her, but she would exhaust all her resources before calling that vain, narcissistic woman who birthed her. The one that ignored her existence unless it was a birthday or Christmas or she desperately needed something. 

Maybe she could call Jessica? Jessica was probably her most experienced friend, but what would she tell Jessica?  _ Hi Jess! How are you? So, um, I might have just been bound to Edward Cullen in a strange vampiric blood ceremony last night and then proceeded to screw him. What do I do now?  _ Yeah, that won’t get her sent to the loony bin. Even mentioning Edward would bring a whole slew of questions that she wasn’t prepared to answer. 

When Jake emerged from the tent fully dressed, he didn’t look any better. If possible, he looked worse. His tangled hair was messily tied back in a leather cord, his clothes wrinkled and a thin sheen of sweat covered every inch of his skin. He didn’t look like he'd make it more than a few steps, much less than a few miles. 

“Jake,” she gasped. 

“Don’t,” he muttered. “Just get ready.”

She hurried to change places with him and get dressed so she could take him to home, or maybe to the hospital.

Tugging her sweatshirt over her head, she groaned in pain. Looking down, her torso and arms were covered in bruises. Some a deep purple-black color and disinsticntly finger shaped and others a lighter yellow color that just covered her skin, concentrating around her breasts and waists. She didn’t remember being in pain last night, but he must have been gripping her hard. He was definitely stronger than a normal human man. 

Sliding down her pants, she realized she had no underwear on. She gritted her teeth on the thought of who pocketed them last night.  _ A little reminder to you of who you now belong to.  _ Belong to, my ass, she thought. She was a 21st century woman and she belonged to no one but herself.

The missing underwear allowed her unobstructed view of the damage of her lower half. She saw that her hips, thighs and legs were covered in the same bruises. She wondered how her neck looked after all the attention he lavished on it. Or even, worse, her face. She touched her face hesitantly, wishing for a mirror to check over herself. 

There must not be any bruises anywhere visible for Jake to have not seen it this morning. Or maybe he was worse than he said he was and he honestly didn't notice. Bella disliked that option more. Quickly dressing in her clothes, she pushed past it and focused on getting Jake home without him dying.

Desperate his appearance, he had most of the camp packed by the time she was done. Between the two of them, the tent and sleeping bags were packed away in a few minutes and they were ready for the hike back to the truck. 

Hiking took longer than expected. Bella made sure to keep an eye on Jake, watching for any sign he needed a break and shoving food and water in his hands whenever he did take a break. It was hard, slow, and exhausting, but somehow they got to her truck and Bella helped a very weary, sickly looking Jake into the passenger side of her truck.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to a hospital? You look like shit,” Bella asked as she started her truck with a rusty roar. 

“No,” he groaned, tilting his head back. “Just get me home where I can sleep properly.”

“You better not die on me,” she threatened. 

He laughed weakly at her joke.

She coaxed her old truck onto the highway and on the long drive down to La Push. The miles flew beneath her tires as she eyed up Jake. He didn't look any better, pulling his long hair from his neck and panting for breath. Maybe she should take him to the hospital. He looked like he was dying. She bit her lip indecision, but figured Billy would know better what the right thing to do. 

When she pulled up to the house, Billy was waiting with another of the other Quileute, a huge, muscular man.

“Aw, man, what now?” Jake groaned, lumbering out of the truck. 

Bella hopped out quickly to help him, but the huge muscular Quileute was there instead, throwing Jake’s arm around his shoulder. He looked down at Bella as she came around the truck, his nose flaring. She paused at the corner of the truck, unsure and then the man looked towards Jake.

“It’s started,” he murmured to himself, watching Jake’s sweaty face.

“Sam, get off me,” Jake half heartedly pushed at the huge man. 

“You can barely walk,” Sam hefted more of Jake’s weight onto him, and then turned back to Bella. “Thank you.” He nodded towards her. 

“Will he be okay?” She asked tentatively. Something told her not to get too close to him.

“Don’t worry, Bells,” Jake groaned, managing to push Sam off him and stumble towards his house and Billy.

“Call me!” She called to him as he lumbered off, taking a few steps forward. Jake waved his hand a little to show he heard her.

Sam made a move to follow after Jake, but paused by Bella, studying her. “Be careful,” he warned. “We are always here to help, if you need it.”

Icy cold fear shot through her body and the color drained from her face. Did he know? Did he know what happened? Who they were? Did he know what  _ she _ did last night? He continued to walk past her as her mind raced. Woodenly, she walked back to her truck, started it, and pulled it out of Billy’s driveway and back to Forks. 

What had happened to her life? Overnight, she found out her world was not as she thought, got dragged into it kicking and screaming, and now the Quileutes knew about this too? What was their secret? What was happening to Jake? Was it her fault? Or the Cullens?

Questions swirled in her head and she banged her head against the steering wheel, trying to make sense of the world. Would anything ever make sense again? She almost missed her boring life of reading old classic romance novels for fun. 

The house was quiet and dark when she got back. Her eyes ached, her brain was fuzzy and she just wanted to sleep. With all the activity last night, she barely got sleep, plus the worry about Jake had her practically dead on her feet. She glanced at her pack in the passenger seat of the truck and decided she would deal with it later. Keys in hand, she dragged herself out of her truck and over to the door, fumbling with the lock before she successfully got in. 

She stumbled into the kitchen, where Charlie’s hastily scribbled note about fishing hung on the fridge. Pulling it down, she halfheartedly crumpled it her hand and tossed it to the trash can, where it missed and hit the floor. She groaned, tossing her head back, before deciding she’d clean it up later, after she’d eaten and slept. Opening the fridge, she found all the supplies for a simple turkey and cheese sandwich. 

Halfway through her sandwich making, there was a knock at the door. She frowned, not expecting company. Peeking through the peephole of her front door, Edward Cullen stood, looking model perfect, eyes narrowed at the door. She immediately dived down the hide behind the door, her back pressed against it. 

“Bella? I know you’re there,” he called through the door.

“What do you want?” she called back, not opening the door. 

“We must work on your manners, Bella. They are atrocious,” he lectured her from the other side of the door. “Our guests are waiting for us. We have to get going. Open the door.”

Her fingers fumbled for the deadbolt and locked it.

“Really, Bella?” he sighed. “You know that won’t keep me out.”

“Won’t it?” she called back, almost positive he wouldn't resort to breaking down the door.

After a few moments of silence, she peeked through the peephole to see...nothing. He wasn’t there. She frowned, her fingers twitching against the deadbolt, but she decided to leave it locked. Opening the door felt like a trap, like he was crouched just out of view, ready to pounce as soon as she unlocked it. 

With a sudden breeze, she was pressed against the door, face first and a cold, hard body kept her in place. 

“Did you really think a locked door would keep me out?” He chuckled darkly in her ear, trailing a hand down her side.

Her hands spasmed against the door as he molded his cool body to hers, pushing her harder into the door. His leg insulated itself between hers, taking on her weight. He was cold and hard against her core and she gasped at sensations it shot through her. Her heart was beating out of her chest as his hand trailed up her ribs, stopping right under her breast. 

Suddenly she was slumping against the door, her legs unprepared to carry her weight. No longer held against the door by a hard body, her legs practically crumpled underneath her. She leaned heavily on the door, trying to catch her breath. 

“What in the world?” She panted, pressing her burning face to the cool door. 

“You smell.”

Her head tilted to the side until she found him, huddled on the other side of the hallway, nose wrinkled in disgust. 

“Why does everyone keep telling me I smell?” Bells complained, finding her strength to pull herself up.

“Because you do.” His mouth twitched upwards in amusement.

“Fine, I’ll take a shower,” she groaned. She was going to make a sandwich, but she must reek for everyone to be complaining.

But Edward was already shaking his head. “You can at my place. We are already late for our party. You took much longer than I expected to come back.” He paused for a second, eyeing her up. “What happened?”

“Jake got sick and couldn’t hike.” She paused, replaying his words in her head. “Wait, a party? No, I’m not going to a party! I do not do parties.”

He stepped closer, frowning. “Alice has been planning this for a while. She’s very excited. We’ll hurt her feelings if we don’t show. ”

“Listen, I haven’t eaten, bathed or even rested yet! I have been hiking for two days, been kept up all night, which I’ll remind you is your fault! I’m not in the mood!”

She could feel herself panting, face flushed with anger as she put her hands on her hips. She gritted her teeth together as she watched a small smile grace his face, his eyes riveted to hers. 

“You are beautiful when you are flushed,” he murmured, touching a heated cheek. 

Without meaning to, she pressed her cheek into his hand, her hands relaxing on her hips. His golden eyes stared into hers and her thoughts became murky. 

A groan was all the warning she got before he dived in, his icy lips finding her own. He gathered her face in his hands, tilting her face to the optimal angle. He slanted his lips over hers possessively and she gasped. His delicious scent filled her lungs and her mind left her body floating on air. 

But then his lips were gone, and she had to scramble to regain her footing. His effect on her was fast becoming an annoyance.

“I thought I smelled,” she grumbled, struggling to regain her breath.

He clearly had no similar issue.“You are beginning to smell better,” he smiled. “Your blood helps.”

“Great, just what I want to hear from a vampire. My blood smells good to you,” she grumbled.

“Don’t worry, I have no plans of draining you of blood today,” he chuckled.

“So tomorrow then?” she muttered, sarcasm thick in her voice.

“Tomorrow,” he chuckled, and then his expression changed, his eyes starting to smolder as he dropped his mouth to her ear. “Besides, that’s not what the monster inside me wants from you.” His velvety voice washed over her, causing a chill to run up her spine. He pecked her lips quickly and then disappeared. 

She had no idea where he went, but she had no doubts he didn't leave. She almost growled in discontent. He was taking all the control and not letting her get a word in otherwise. They needed to talk, she decided. Put boundaries on their….relationship? She wasn’t sure how to call it, but he wasn’t her boyfriend. Sure, they were bound, whatever that means to him, but it meant little to her. Her hand was forced, literally, and she wasn’t going down without a fight.

She walked back to the kitchen, determined to eat something before she had her talk with Edward. It was going to be a fight, she could already tell. He was used to getting what he wanted.

Unsurprisingly, he was in her kitchen, making her sandwich. He carefully laid down pieces of turkey and cheese like it was a masterpiece instead of a simple turkey sandwich. 

Her mouth twisted downward, watching him as he finished making her sandwich. “That’s mine,” She grumbled, hungry and annoyed. 

He laughed. “Yes, you must eat. You almost look dead as me. Sit,” he waved at the table. 

She narrowed her eyes and didn’t move. She could almost see a way to get rid of him for a few hours. “Yes, I am very tired. So you should leave, so I can rest.” 

He shook his head, pulling out a chair at the table, setting down the sandwich on a plate in front of it. “You can rest at my home. I’ve got almost everything prepared and Alice is ordering you dinner out of a little Italian place in Port Angeles for you.”

She was not going to go sleep at a vampire’s house. She crossed her arms, ready to fight him. “I’d feel better resting here, at my home,” she insisted. 

He mimicked her posture. “I’d feel better with you resting at my house after your slight scare this morning in La Push.” 

Bella’s stern expression shifted into a surprised one, her mouth dropping open. “How did you know about that?”

He lifted his hand, showing her the same mark on his palm that was on hers. 

“You can feel me too?” 

He nodded. “It’s the purpose of it, you know. To keep your mate nearly, even when they are far.” His eyes were distanced as he stared into his palm. “It can be a hard existence without someone to share it with. A gift from the gods if they existed. A companion for eternity. A reason to keep going.” 

His voice was laced with an ancient sadness Bella couldn’t quite understand, but yet her heart echoed it and she had to swallow back tears. 

“You are the sun inthe middle of my midnight.” He brushed his mark, setting the bond off, feelings bolting through her. Sadness. Happiness. Love. Lust. It was all too much and she shuttered and trembled as her knees went weak. He was there instantly, cradling her with one arm.

“Eat,” he ordered, scooping her up and setting her in the chair. “I have to gather some of your things for today.” And then he was gone.

Before her was her sandwich, perfectly made, cut into fourths, with a steak knife resting on the edge of the plate. He must have used the knife to cut the sandwich. She almost laughed at the thought of him not knowing what knives to use for what, but then she caught sight of her reflection in the knife. The very sharp knife. 

She remembered how easily the blade slit through his skin last night. Could he be vulnerable to knives? Or maybe, to a certain type of metal or glass? The dagger from the night before had been a strange iridescent black glass. It seemed to work just fine on her, cutting open her skin. A steak knife is not some strange magical dagger, but maybe it works the same? Only one way to find out.

She hid the steak knife in her lap and tried to act natural, choking down the sandwich that turned to ash in her mouth. 

He returned, one of her duffle bags thrown over a shoulder. He frowned at how little of the sandwich she managed to choke down in the time he was gone. 

“You can eat that in the car,” he said, frowning slightly at the oven clock. “Our guests are waiting for us.”

“I’m not going,” she shrugged, still trying to choke down her sandwich. 

He cocked an eyebrow. “And why not?” 

She was armed and felt powerful with a weapon in her hand. She stared him straight in the eye. “I don’t want to.”

“It doesn’t have to be for long. We just have to make an appearance as the couple being—“

“No.” Bella was surprised at how calmly her voice came out. Her fingers twitched around the knife handle.

“No?” His tone was strained, a deep v forming between his brows. “Don’t be unreasonable, Bella. It’s not like I’m asking—“

Bella had enough. “Look, we are not a couple. We’re not dating or whatever else you call it in your world. I’m not your girlfriend. What happened last night was…” she trailed off, unsure of how to say it. “But it shouldn’t have happened. We barely know each other and our hormones got the better of us and it was a —“

“Mistake?” He asked coldly, his mouth set in a firm line. “Is that what you were about to say?”

Bella swallowed thickly at his tone. “Look, we’re teenagers and we made a mis—” she changed words at his dark look. “ _ error _ in judgement.”

“ _ Error _ in judgement?” His cold held a slight note of incredulity. 

He was instantly in front of her, dragging out of the chair. She fumbled to keep the knife in her grip and hide it behind her thigh from him, but he seemed completely focused on her face.

“Is  _ this _ an error? A mistake?” He asked, his eyes wild and feverish, searching hers.

It was the only warning she got before he crushed her lips to his, his lips hard and demanding against hers. There was no fighting him and no escape from his perfect lips, but Bella didn’t much care at the moment. Each touch of his lips sent bolts of electricity through her body. It was nothing but pure heaven, his taste. She felt like an addict, pressing her lips to his, desperate for another taste, another hit. The knife in her hand was the only thing keeping her from spiraling out of control and ripping his clothes off. Or hers.

He lifted her onto the counter, stepping between her parted thighs and capturing her lips again. He traced the seam of her lips and she almost got distracted by his sweet, cool tongue. But the knife was still heavy in her hand, reminding her of her plan. Wrapping her arms around his neck and burying one hand into his hand, he groaned deeply and pulled her hips closer to his. 

Opening her eyes, she checked to make sure he wasn’t watching and then glanced at the knife still clutched in her fist. She raised the knife as far as she could and stabbed downward. 

It almost happened in slow motion. Watching the knife descend, cutting threw his shirt like it was meant to. But then the knife point practically bounced off his skin in rebound, the tip slightly curling under itself. The blade vibrated with the force in which she stabbed him, almost causing her to lose her grip on the blade. Through the rip of his shirt, she could see there wasn’t even a scratch on his skin from the blade. 

He had stopped kissing her when the blade met his skin, his cold lips resting against hers. His eyes had yet to open. 

“Bella,” he growled against her lips. It was low and dangerous. A stone of dread settled in her stomach. His eyes opened and she almost shunk back against the cabinet behind her at the dangerous glint she found in them.

“I’m sorry.”

It was almost instinctive, the apology falling from her lips without thought. Her voice was so small and terrified. She was scared, she realized. She was scared of him and what he’d do to her in retaliation. 

“Not yet you aren’t,” he growled, his fingers flexing against her hips. The pressure almost became painful at times and she knew her bruises were multiplying with each press of his fingers.

He reached behind his head and ripped the knife from her hand. She tried to shrink further back into the cabinets. They were unyielding, unfortunately. 

“Did you think this would hurt me?” He asked, tilting the slightly bent knife in the light.

With one hand, he closed his fist around the blade. The wooden handle wobbled and then clattered to the floor as a terrible screeching noise came from his hand. His hand opened up to show her a pile of silver dust. The metal of the knife crumpled to dust right before her eyes. 

“Have no fear, love, there is very little that can hurt me.”

“I’m sorry.” She was trembling, she realized. She was starting to see the real horror of the situation she was in. 

The implication of his power was terrifying. A blade like that would have cut through her skin with relative ease. The same relative ease he used to crush the same knife to dust. He didn't even look like he tried to strained himself. He just closed his fist and then it was dust. His strength was alarming. Would he crush her to death? Reach out and crush her windpipe? Stab a hand through her chest and rip out her heart? 

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realized she was far out of her depth. That maybe there was no escape and nothing that can hurt him. Would she just have to suck it up and play along? But for how long? Eternity? 

He let the dust dump from his hand onto the floor, it tinkling against the linoleum. He gathered her hands in his, and pulled them behind her back. He transferred her wrists to one hand and pulled them backwards, causing her to arch her back, pressing her body more firmly to his. 

“I should tie you up,” he murmured in her ear.

He dragged his hand up her side, cupping her breast, brushing his cold thumb against her nipple. A shiver ran through her as it pebbled under his touch. “Have my way with you.”

His lips dropped from her ear to her neck, laying cool kisses down it’s length. “And then leave you on edge all night, begging for me to come back and finish what I started.”

She gasped as the icy cold fear that held her still shifted into a low burning heat. His words did something for her as her mind was suddenly filled with images of him holding her down and coaxing pleasure out of her body all night long. Her, helpless, begging for the release that was so  _ close _ , yet so far away. She squirmed against him.

“You’d be truly sorry by morning,” he promised, finding her pulse point, licking it and then wrapping his lips around it and sucking. 

Pleasure jolted through her body. Her head fell back against the cabinets and a moan tumbled out of her mouth involuntarily. She pressed her breast more firmly into his hand and he squeezed it gently. She rocked her hips against his and he groaned in response and tightened his hold on her. 

He ripped his mouth from her neck, pulling back, eyes closed, panting slightly. He let go of her and she practically slumped against him, trying to catch her breath. She tried to close her thighs, desperate to rub them together to rid herself of this ache, but he still stood between her legs. She wanted for him to press back against her and provide the friction that she was looking for, that she needed. Her core ached for him and clutched around nothing. She wished he would ease that ache, that emptiness.

“But,” he paused, pulling a small silver cell phone that was vibrating out of his pocket. “later. We’re late.”

He flipped it open. “Alice.” His voice was still gravely and a bit breathless.

A high pitched speech was too fast for Bella to understand, but Alice didn’t sound happy.

Edward sighed, his voice becoming annoyed. “I know. I’m sorry we got distracted.”

More fast paced words from Alice sounded strangely like a lecture.

“We’re coming now,” Edward growled and then snapped the phone closed. “Alice is lucky I love her. She’s so annoying sometimes. We have to go, before Alice loses her mind.”

He one hand, he lifted Bella off the counter and set her gently on the floor. She wrapped her arms around herself as he herded her to the door, slinging her duffle bag on his shoulder on the way out.

She was embarrassed. She let herself get carried away by his touch and taste and forgot the reality of the situation she was in. If Alice hadn’t called, she would have let him do whatever he wanted with her. 

It was almost depressing to see the rest of her life stretched out before her. She’d never be able to escape. There was nothing she could possibly humanly do to fight him off. Was this her fate? To be some vampire's little pet? Letting him have his way with her because she had no self control?

No, she decided. She would never give in. There must be a way to get out of this. She would find it. Or die trying. 


End file.
